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How might the West strike Syria?

Donald Trump has said missiles will be launched, but what are the military options?

A handout photo made available by the US Navy on 10 April 2018 shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) departing Larnaca, on the southern coast of Cyprus. Seaman Alyssa / EPA Photo

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US President Donald Trump has vowed that missiles would be launched at Syria following a suspected chemical attack, virtually ensuring a military strike against the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.

The question now becomes what the United States, probably with France and Britain, will hit in Syria, and what are the risks of escalation and miscalculation with Mr Al Assad's allies Russia and Iran.

President Al Assad said on Thursday that Western threats to strike Syria are based on "lies" and seek to undermine the country's military reported capture of Eastern Ghouta.

Mr Al Assad said that Western threats endanger international peace and security, and that military action would only contribute to the "further destabilisation" of the region.

What will be targeted?

The United States and its allies France and Britain want to send a clear and definitive message to that the future use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated.

One way to ensure Al Assad cannot use such weapons is to conduct strikes on his chemical infrastructure, including by targeting factories and weapons holding areas.

Such an action carries risks, including the possibility of unintentionally unleashing a cloud of toxic gas into the environment.

The strike could also target what is left of Al Assad's air force and air defences, though the delay between Saturday's attack and an eventual retaliatory strike means he likely will have moved his warplanes to safety.

Jennifer Cafarella, a Syria analyst for the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, said one potential target would be Dumayr military airport northeast of Damascus, from where regime aircraft used in Saturday's attack may have launched.